Wilderness Wednesdays
Wilderness Wednesdays
A weekly tradition around spending a day traveling the local outdoors
2020 threw our year in the blender, as it has for pretty much everyone. All in all, we’re doing great, and we count our blessings each day: the health of ourselves and our families, a safe space to shelter, a luxurious abundance of unstructured time, and sunshine here in California (when we’re not blanketed by smoke).
But we did give up something that meant a lot to us — our 2020 travels. With the way COVID unfolded across the US and around the world, we’ve long accepted the reality that our planned year of Capital-”T” Travel is off the table… indefinitely. We kissed goodbye to our flights to Portugal, our dreams of backpacking in South America, and our friends’ destination weddings. Our bookings refunds were redirected towards toilet paper and hand sanitizer. These were tough pills to swallow.
It took us months of bunkering down to reach a (groundbreaking, to us) realization… why don’t we simply travel our own backyard? Travel doesn’t have to involve flights, hotel rooms, foreign languages, passports, complicated itineraries, or even human contact. At its core, what I love about travel is the chance to see the world with fresh eyes, encountering new things, and realizing that there’s more out there than what I know.
So we’ve decided to start a weekly tradition around traveling the Bay Area during COVID. Our rules are simple: Every Wednesday we leave the apartment and head into the wild. We spend the full day outside — jogging, walking, hiking, and soaking in nature. If we have work or calls, we take it from outdoors. To make things easier, we usually pack our lunch, snacks, and sunscreen, and leave a picnic blanket and tent in the trunk of the car.
We decided to term this “Wilderness Wednesdays.” I hope you enjoy my diary of where we went and what we did!
Golden Gate Park Strawberry Hill
In our inaugural Wilderness Wednesday, we decided to do something very, very approachable — spending the day in Golden Gate Park. Tons of people do this. And despite the fact that GGP is fifteen minutes from where we live, we haven’t spent substantial time there. Once we were inside the park, I was surprised at how large it was and how much time it would take to explore it fully.
In the morning, we went for a long run around the park to scope out potential picnic sites. We couldn’t explore the whole park due to its size, but decided to hang out around Strawberry Hill. Strawberry Hill is an island in the middle of man-made Stow Lake. It’s an artificial structure, yet feels completely natural, as home to a diverse ecosystem of plants, trees, birds, and butterflies. We climbed up to the waterfall and enjoyed panoramic views of the city from the top of the hill. We picnicked in the Golden Gate Pavilion, a pagoda on the water that was donated by sister city Taipei.
(In case you were wondering, there are indeed strawberries growing on Strawberry Hill. Look out for them around the perimeter of the Golden Gate Pavilion!)
We chose to camp out in a small lawn just outside of Roman Bridge to Strawberry Hill, under a canopy of trees. It was empty there when we first set up, but we might’ve set a trend because a few families also decided to settle on that lawn later!
I left Golden Gate Park that day with a much greater appreciation for how large it is, and how much diversity it houses. It also provides a refuge for the diverse populace of SF... We saw a daycare with about a dozen kids walking in a line. Parents and caretakers there with their children. Dogwalkers, joggers, and working people taking conference calls while strolling underneath the cypress trees. I feel so fortunate that we have a connection to nature within the city, and am inspired to take advantage of it more often.
Rodeo Valley to Slacker Hill
We upped the ante the next week by driving north across the Golden Gate Bridge for a hike in Rodeo Valley. We took the Rodeo Valley Loop Trail, a moderate 6 mile loop that traversed valleys, cliffs, the coast, and forests. A lot of wildlife was visible that day, from songbirds and butterflies, to deer and rabbits. Parts of the trail were heavily forested with eucalyptus trees, and other parts were completely exposed along the coast. It was especially memorable to hike in the coastal mist on a sunny day because the sunlight diffused through the foggy atmosphere and everything was illuminated — our shadows completely disappeared!
At the end of the loop, we made a detour to climb Slacker Hill. I feel that “Slacker” Hill is a misnomer, since it was quite a climb to the top. But once there, the payoff is a beautiful panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the distant San Francisco skyline. There are thoughtful bales of hay placed so that hikers can sit and enjoy the view.
We brought a picnic to eat at the summit. Allen was responsible for packing our burgers, but he forgot the bread. (Or was it purposeful to make the burgers protein-style?) We did our best to scarf down the burger ingredients before the wind could blow them away. It was still delicious, with a beautiful view and the satisfaction of having earned it!
Later we drove back to San Francisco to enjoy the Golden Gate Bridge from Baker Beach. The view of the Bridge is really beautiful. We ventured very far and found ourselves in the nude section, where there were still some nude sunbathers despite the wind blowing like crazy that day. We didn’t last long with the windchill — one day we’ll bring a tent!
Devil’s Slide to Gray Whale Cove State Beach
While hiking Slacker Hill, Allen made a comment about how he always wanted to try trail running, and I countered with why don’t we. So we set out to try it. Our primary consideration as absolute newbs is to find a beginner-friendly trail that is well-paved, yet still provides a modest incline and views to remind us that this is more than a jog through the park.
Devil’s Slide checked all our boxes. North of Half Moon Bay, this trail was formerly a section of Highway 1 that was decommissioned and replaced by the Tom Lantos tunnel. One lane of this former highway is dedicated to pedestrian hiking, and the other for cyclists.
Once we arrived, it was clear why they closed this off from car traffic. Devil’s Slide is on the side of a steep cliff at risk of rockslide, with winding twists and turns, plus almost no visibility when covered in fog (which is half the time). It has a nine degree incline, which is perfect for cyclists whizzing down the coast, but less perfect for cars navigating this precarious stretch. Thanks to conservation efforts, the area is a hotspot for watching birds and whales on their migration patterns.
Since we were there during a heatwave, the fog burned off and the views were glorious. We did a quick jog up and down Devil’s Slide (but not gonna lie, we frequently stopped to take photos and admire the view).
Afterwards we walked ~7 minutes south of the Devil’s Slide south parking lot to Gray Whale Cove. This small (but massively underrated) beach is nestled between the more famous Montara State Beach to the south and Pacifica Beach to the north. To get there, you pretty much need to jaywalk Highway 1 to find the steep flights of steps that take you down to the cove. Once there, the trees and surf sounds obscure the highway traffic up above, and it’s incredibly peaceful. There was one group of surfers, some beach-goers, and a few dogs — pretty much nothing compared to the crowds at larger beaches nearby. We camped out there reading and sketching. I got a few sunburns on my legs.
On our way home, we grabbed food and drinks at the Taco Bell Cantina on Pacific Beach. This is reputedly the most beautiful Taco Bell in the word. It’s certainly the most beautiful Taco Bell I’ve ever eaten at, by a wide margin! This cantina is right on the beach, with outdoor seating in a deck overlooking the ocean. I imagine that the sunsets are spectacular from here! They serve beer and margaritas, which we definitely took advantage of on this hot beach day.
What’s Next?
We definitely plan to keep this new tradition of “traveling” around the Bay Area outdoors on Wednesdays for as long as we can (a.k.a., while we’re both unemployed). Allen is great at coming up with ideas for new places to explore, and it’s fun every week to plan and anticipate where we will go next.
Please let us know if you have recommendations for hidden gems around the Bay Area! Until next time!
